If someone were to ask Jasmine Santos to describe the last few years of her life with a single word, it would definitely be a four-letter one.After seventeen years—and countless broken bones and broken promises—she knows her window to compete in figure skating is coming to a close.But when the offer of a lifetime comes in from an arrogant idiot she’s spent the last decade dreaming about pushing … dreaming about pushing in the way of a moving bus, Jasmine might have to reconsider everything.
Including Ivan Lukov.
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Love Olympic skating? Do NOT miss this one!
After watching Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir during the Olympics and rewatching The Cutting Edge, I was craving more ice skating romance! So this was exactly what I wanted. Two skaters who have “hated” each other since they were kids become a skating pair in order to chase victory, and once they learn to trust each other, the sparks fly.
I don’t believe in love at first sight. (I believe in *lust* at first sight that occasionally turns into more, but that’s about it.) Unfortunately for me, it’s increasingly difficult to find romances where the couple really builds up to a relationship in a way that feels realistic…but Mariana Zapata never disappoints. She makes you work for your happy ending and feel slightly uncertain you’ll get the happy ending at all, but I want that in a book. Because when I already know it’s coming and I already know exactly how it will be delivered, the mystery is solved and I’m ambivalent about finishing. Zapata never solves the mystery until the very end, but when she does it – BOOM – it’s freaking magic.
I adore MZ books! And I devour From Lukov … if you enjoy slow burns with a dose of humour and realism then check it out!
I now have to favorite MZ books!
From Lukov with Love is perfect! I mean that’s really the whole review because everything about this book is perfect.
The “dislike”/tension between Jasmine and Ivan, perfect.
The banter/insults/nicknames, perfect.
The figure skating, perfect.
The sloooowww burn and it’s payoff, perfect.
Ivan taking care of Jasmine when she’s sick, perfect.
Ivan standing up for Jasmine, perfect.
Jasmine standing up for herself, perfect.
And the epilogue, perfect!
The cherry on top of all this perfection is the incomparable narration by Callie Dalton and Teddy Hamilton!
“Because I’m okay with you having ten other people be your favorite. But you’re always going to be my favorite person.”
Honestly, I was a little worried going into “From Lukov with Love”. This book is by far the most hyped and popular book I’ve seen from Mariana Zapata, so I was really nervous that it wasn’t going to live up to the hype. Mariana had already set the bar so incredibly high for me with “Kulti”, that I was worried none of her other books would even come close. But From Lukov with Love did!
“From Lukov with Love” is the story of 26 year old Jasmine Santos who is nearing the end of her skating career. After being ditched by her ex-skating partner and forced to take a year off, retirement was looming. That was until 29 year old Ivan Lukov needed a new partner, and offers Jasmine the job. The only issue is that Jasmine and Ivan have been at each other’s necks for as long as they can remember. This partnership would save Jasmine’s skating career, but can she learn to trust the man she’s bickered with for so long?
Just like the rest of Mariana Zapata’s books, the slowburn was real. I feel like this book started off a bit slower compared to others I’ve read from her, but once it got going, it was a train that could not be stopped. Jasmine and Ivan’s relationship grew so much over the course of this book and I love how they developed. Like the rest of MZ men, Ivan really was not who he seemed. I loved learning all the small things about him alongside Jasmine, and to feel her confusion as she tried to grapple how this Ivan was possibly the guy she hated for so long. I also really liked Jasmine, her family dynamic added a really interesting part of the story and to her character. Jasmine is extremely strong and determined, which makes you feel for her so much more. And again, Ivan and Jasmine’s relationship. Obviously I love some good bickering and banter, but once they got past that and grew into friends, I was squealing like a little girl over their interactions. The way Ivan defends her and takes care of her on multiple occasions left me squealing like a little girl.
I’m rating this book 5 stars, so it may be odd that I have some criticisms, but I do.. Firstly, I feel like this book would have really benefited from dual pov. Like most other MZ men, Ivan is an extremely personal guy. This leaves me feeling slightly disconnected from him, even though he was a main character. Obviously we learn his feelings and everything at the end, but I feel like it would’ve been a bit more impactful if we could’ve seen Ivan’s feelings for Jasmine develop from his POV. My only other criticism is that it felt like some of Jasmine’s storylines were kind of forgotten about. Her stalker? Her learning disability? These were two things about her character that really intrigued me, yet were never really fully fleshed out or mentioned more than a few times.
Overall “From Lukov with Love” was an incredible contemporary sports romance with tropes I adore and characters I grew to really love. While I did have criticisms, none of them were enough to warrant me rating this book under 5 stars. I still don’t think this book topped “Kulti” for me, but at times it came pretty close. “From Lukov with Love” totally deserves the 5/5 stars rating I’m giving it. After reading this book, honestly I’m just left wishing that I could also get a hug from Ivan Lukov.
From Lukov with Love:
Mariana Zapata
“Love to me was honesty. Being real. Knowing someone’s best and worst. Love was a push that said someone believed in you when you didn’t.”
The slow-burn queen does it again with another sports romance!
Jasmine Santos is a dedicated, committed athlete with one goal in life–figure skating. She hasn’t won any competitions to date and with the possibility of retiring looming over her head, she’s worried that all her efforts/sacrifices and not to mention, her family’s have been fruitless. So naturally when Jasmine is paired with her basically mortal enemy but wildly talented and heavily medaled, Ivan Lukov, to compete in pairs skating, naturally, it’s a mess.
Two head-strong people who thrive off of fighting with one another constantly to the point where they almost don’t even know how to be nice to one another.
Jasmine’s character development is probably one of the best parts of this book. At times, she came off as stuck-up to me and watching her stand up for those younger girls, or the way she started appreciating things more, or the way she was finally a little kinder to Ivan when he was being kind too, I liked that. I understood her internal struggles a lot–her imposter syndrome that dipped into borderline depression and that need to ball up into herself and just be alone.
The enemies-to-lovers aspect in this book is done really well. There’s no instant click, it’s a languid progression from hatred to dislike to tolerance to acceptance to friends to lovers. And as with all Mariana Zapata books, you can really feel the friendship between them form.
Ivan was a wonderfully funny and caring guy, and he definitely surprised me with that softer side of him that he showed when Jasmine needed it. Plus, his relationship with her family is just so adorable. Somehow simultaneously firm and gentle, I admire the way he balances both and isn’t afraid to tell Jasmine things as it is.
Loved the story and the romance so much!
4 stars – It was really good
Jasmine Santos just wants to compete in figure skating pairs, but the only way to do that is to pair with the arrogant idiot Ivan Lukov.
This was a wonderful slow burn sports romance. I really enjoyed Jasmine and Ivan’s banter and their slow transition to love. I really liked Jasmine. She was a smart ass but also a hard worker with a strong dedication to her family. I liked that she was always making sure that she would make time for her family with her extremely busy schedule. Also I loved some of the crazy insults that came out of her, and her families, mouths.
“I love you so much I spend all day with you, and it still isn’t enough for me,”
Ivan was dished out just as much sarcasm as Jasmine and it was like foreplay for them. I liked that he would pick up on the sarcasm that actually hurt Jasmine and never used it again. I loved all the little things he did just to get Jasmine as his partner and how he was always supportive of her. He was supportive and always went out of his way to take care of her. My only disappointment was that we never got Ivan’s POV, but that is just because I prefer dual POVs.
Overall, this was a wonderful sports romance that really goes into depth the hard work that figure skating can be. I really adored these two and their progression into being partners off the ice.
Trigger Warnings: references to cyber stalking and bullying
Loved loved LOVED this! I was invested!! I loved Ivan and Jasmine, the time they spent together and the progression of their relationship. I felt this was relatable and believable. Ivan may be my favorite from this author. He’s cocky but charming and funny. Many feels from this one. I honestly stayed up way too late listening because I couldn’t find a point to stop. As for steam, this was a sloooooooooooow burn. There was some sexiness to it, but really in the last chapter.
Also, a note regarding the audio: I freaking loved it. Maybe that is what also drew me in. The story is all from Jasmine’s point of view (Callie Dalton is a fantastic narrator) HOWEVER all of Ivan’s lines were recorded by Teddy Hamilton. I have always wished authors considered doing that (and I haven’t run into it before) because I sometimes hate hearing guy lines in a female voice or vice versa. But good lord, this was one perfect. It flowed perfectly, Teddy’s voice was on point for Ivan!
(Apparently you should read Dear Aaron first [tie in], which I have not….but I don’t think it would have ruined the story for me. Likely would help you appreciate it more)
i loved every minute of this book. I was just as invested in their success as a skating team as I was in their relationship off the ice. Ivan is smug and snarky, but he’s also exactly what Jasmine needs to get where she wants to be. The banter back and forth between the two main characters is everything. And both roles were performed flawlessly by Teddy Hamilton and Callie Dalton. This book made me both laugh and cry. But most of all it just made me happy. This was my first Mariana Zapata book, but it won’t be my last. It was a very slow burn, but not once did it drag for me. I enjoyed all of it. I would highly recommend it.
My first Mariana Zapata listen. I liked this story but it was very much a slow burn. I don’t mind slow burns for the most part but this one dragged on for a very long time. I fell in love with Jasmine & Ivan. Just wish there could have been more details about them once they got together.
4 stars
Mariana is a connoisseur of sports romance. Every book of hers goes into meticulous & religious details about the sport she’s writing. And then she did her quintessential heart full of emotions to the mix.
Ivan Lukov is a champion of champions of figure skating world. Just to be in his presence makes the girls go weak in the knees and their hearts jump into their eyes.
Fellow figure skater, Jazmine Santos has looked upto him and had a teenie crush on him as an athlete. But as a human, it’s a whole another story altogether. She’s best friends with his sister Karina, and they giggle and gossip about everything, they are joined at the hip, till Karina has to move away.
Now these both have paired up for a humongous string of events happening within one year and it’s an insurmountable task with work cut out very close for Jaz.
Their simmering chemistry is volatile and explosive, their nearness comfortable and comforting. We get to see the inner warrior of Jaz and the sweetest personality hiding behind the gruff exterior of Lukov.
This book was intricate and expansive in narration and prose. It’s just my personal opinion that putting all the thoughts on paper lengthens the book whereas precision goes missing in action. Some sentiments were on repeat, Esp her inner monologues. Her tussle with her heart was worded every paragraph till it became hard to concentrate.
BUT….the story behind is so sweet and tender, I was wanting more of the tete-a-tete between Dumbo and his meatball
I enjoyed it and the narrators were BRILLIANT, Esp Male narrator did an excellent Lukov.
The best book by Mariana I’ve read so far.
Jasmine and Ivan are sworn enemies and Jasmine can’t stand seeing him. But everything changes when she gets an offer that could change her skating career, the minus though she has to be Ivan’s partner in the ice. After some thinking, Jasmine agrees, but she also has her terms.
Their practices start off with their bickering over each other, on the ice they also have their ups and downs. But the more they practice, the better they work together and it doesn’t take long for them to change from enemies to friends.
What I loved here the most was Ivan and his caring side when it came to Jasmine, even though he showed to her he hates her at the beginning, deep inside he felt something for her and it didn’t take long for this feeling to take over him. He was always there for her, helped, motivated her.
I loved their bickering that kept going through the whole book and every time it made me smile.
Mariana Zapata is the best at writing slow burns and this book proves it.
One of the best enemies to friends to lovers book I’ve read.
Continuing my AE Hit List with this Rivals to Lovers gem with excellent narration! Nearly 15 hours of snarky ice skating rivalry and evolution from rivals to friends to EVERYTHING! This is in AE, but I would happily spend a credit on it.
This is all in the female POV, but all of Ivan’s spoken parts are Teddy
The is the first single-person first-person POV book that I can say I loved. This heroine is fierce, frustrating and by the time this couple actually makes their relationship somewhat functional, it’s so rewarding.
There were some moments stolen from The Cutting Edge movie, but I didn’t care because that movie is a fav, and what would the book be without seeing the echoes of that movie in an epic ice skating romance? Absolutely recommend.
I really wanted to love this book but I didn’t. It was a slow burn as the rest of Mariana Zapata’s books are and that part of the book was so good. Jasmine was so determined snd didn’t let anyone talk her out of what she wanted to do and I loved her tenacity when it came to figure skating but I couldn’t get over Jasmine and other parts of her personality. She was very stubborn, dense, resistant to change and defensive that it was frustrating. She’d start to change but then she’d get defensive over something she shouldn’t have and all the progress was made and she’d go back to being untrusting and just a B. I really don’t know how Ivan put up with her. I loved Ivan and the more I learned about him the more I loved him. The very end was so good but the first 90% drove me crazy.
I was watching a TikTok video one day of this couple skating on ice and the chemistry these two shared was palpable. I then went in search of a book that focused on figure skating because I needed what I felt from that video to be a constant emotion coursing through my body. This book was recommended by everyone I knew and they did not disappoint.
There is something extremely emotional and raw about this book. A slow burn enemies to lovers romance for the ages, I can’t even begin to describe how overwhelming this book was for me. I think maybe because it dealt with issues that hit a little too close to home, which I think is part of the reason why this book resonated with me. It deals with self-worth, self-discovery, insecurities, self-doubt, and finding peace within yourself. It also deals with strength, perseverance, family, and the determination to not give up on your dreams no matter what.
This book might not be the flashiest, might not have all these complex characters, or over the top words, but it’ll ruin your heart and soul. My heart broke a million times for Jasmine. Gosh, how a girl so beautiful and headstrong can feel so broken over herself amazed me. I wanted to reach through the screen and hug her. Ivan was just as headstrong, just as determined, and wouldn’t leave her side. It was a match made in hell lol.
Such a good slow burn book that focused more on the plot and the characters, than it did romance and I am pleasantly surprised to find that I liked it that way.
I read this book over a year ago and I still go back to it as one of my favorites. That’s the kind of impression it left on me. I recommend it all the time for a great sports romance. One of the biggest reasons is the heroine is portrayed so well and the slow-burn chemistry Ms. Zapata is known for–she’s always a one-click for me. I wasn’t even much of a figure-skating fan, but Ms. Zapata is so talented at drawing you into the world she creates and the character building she takes so much time in cultivating–flaws and all.
+5 STARS!!!!
I never thought I’d love a slow-burn THIS MUCH.
But this book right here? WAS EVERYTHING AND MORE.
It’s been a while since i’ve cried with a book and felt so much, even nervous bc of the competition! Oh my God, I thought my heart was gonna get out of my chest because it was beating that fast!
Jasmine was awesome from the starts even if at the beginning i thought she was a bit of a jerk. But nope. She is awesome and this amazing hard working woman who never gave up on her dreams like NEVER. And she was immensely talented and unapologetically. I loved her so much and her strength in everything was omg I can’t really express myself correctly.
Ivan… man… i loved him so much. Literally one of the best heros out there. So caring, so beautiful, so freakin perfect and kind. The moments when he’d fight Jasmine were just funny and hilarious moments where i laughed so much because I never really thought that he meant everything he said to her. They were enemies but enemies that secretly admired each other because of their talents. Jasmine was just too stubborn to admit it at first.
I’ve always wanted to read a novel of figure skaters that did it together. Or just a couple that played some sport together just for the sake that i’d knew that they’ll spend too much together and that they’ll be so freakin comfortable touching each other so much that personal space didn’t exist. And here i got it. The way they trusted each other after a while? That was priceless. They way they always had their backs? Man, i could cry just thinking about the things they’d think of each other while saying funny things to each other. I loved them so much and they were so perfect for each other.
And the first I love you couldn’t have been more right and in the perfect moment and place.
So so so beautiful that I’m amazed. Thank you so much, Mariana for writing such a good story and characters. I loved them all. Jasmine’s family, the coaches even if they didn’t appear that much. Just everyone. This book is just perfect and one of those you’ll want to read over and over again.
I could only wish if we had more cute scenes of Ivan and Jasmine as a couple and competitors. The epilogue wasn’t enough for me in that sense. I really didn’t want it to end. It was that good.
I had been in a sudden mood for a slow romance and decided to pick up a book from none other than the queen of said trope.
I had mixed feelings about picking this particular book because they are a number of people who did not like this one.
But ofcourse people! If you are not looking for a slow burn romance reading a Zapata book will be torture (but still a beautiful pain).
Anyway, Jasmine is a figure skater who has experienced results of past wrong decisions, has been urged to retire to coach but has been given the chance to partner up with basically the progidy of the sport, Ivan Lukov who for more than a decade have been a barely tolerated enemy.(I love Russian names! They’re dashing)
The adventure of the bool tackles themes on the back breaking training of professional athletes, the bias against atheleticism as a real career, family, love and winning.
Although there are times when I got annoyed with G, I brushed it off as an acknowledgement of the natural unperfection of the human character.
That is to say, we all can’t be reading perfectly reasonable and mature characters, where’s the fun in that?
Will add this to my Re Read list.
Thank you Mariana Zapat for the lovely story. It was a wonderful escape this qurantine.
Loved both Winnepeg and my ultimate favorite, Kulti.They were both my 5 stars so I had to decrease a point on this one to accurately rank my love of your books.!
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